Karl wants Anthony to lead by ‘example and attitude’

“I still don’t quite comprehend exactly what’s going on and I don’t know if I want to comprehend what’s going on. Sometimes you get too much information. To me, I would just rather have ‘Melo and I on the same page and I think we are. The other thing is ‘Melo and I talked about if you were gonna be here I want to tell you what I was thinking about telling you. I told him that. I told him you gotta make a commitment to be a great player and make a commitment to make the next step to the next level. You still can make another step. The step I think that needs to be made is on the defensive end of the court and as a leader and a professional leader. Not a leader by voice, but by example and attitude.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: His smirk and attitude polarizes, but Coach George Karl calls it like he sees it. Usually, he’s right, too.

For instance, Karl didn’t ignore the trade rumors and speculation surrounding star Carmelo Anthony. Instead, he told Anthony to step up. And he had told the media about it.

The grizzled sideline boss informed his franchise face (for now) he must lead by ‘example” and ‘attitude’, not yelling. Karl believes this will help Anthony evolve.

Love him or hate him, Karl’s approach works. He won over strong personalities like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp in The Emerald City, helping those Seattle Super Sonics advace to the NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls. The Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets both made the Conference Finals with Karl.

Karl, a former back-up point guard, is also right. Anthony has the potential to be much more than a scorer.